


Memories of Summer

by cherrytruck



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, basically albus wondering if he is in the friendzone or what
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-18 18:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrytruck/pseuds/cherrytruck
Summary: Even after so many years, Albus still cannot forget the summer shared with the Dark Wizard who was once dearly close to him.





	Memories of Summer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oudeteron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oudeteron/gifts).



> I'm not overly familiar with the world of Harry Potter (I guess I'm one of those casual people who watched the films as a kid booo casuals) and most of what I know about this backstory is thanks to the fics from oudeteron. It's been almost a decade since we last talked about this backstory! The new Fantastic Beasts film may or may not have activated a little bit of hype and the revival of our inside jokes.

Albus remembers the moment of when what he believed was the end of all his ambitions became the beginning of a world full of hopes and dreams, a moment defined by when he saw this particular stranger who happened to walk into the same old town that Albus was trapped in.

He remembers seeing the young man, so well dressed, defined cheekbones and all. What a tall and handsome boy he was. The way he spoke was also most eloquent, so confident in a way that managed to be endearing more than arrogant.

Gellert had such a charismatic aura to him that made him stand out from anyone else Albus had met at Hogwarts. It became even harder not to be drawn to his new acquaintance when it became apparent that Gellert had the same passion in wizardry to put himself in the same league as Albus. Finally, someone who listened and understood him. Before he knew it, they would speak for hours on end and Albus would go to bed with his mind so full of other things he still wanted to share with his new friend.

It was first academic, then common interests, and then ideas blossomed when they’d tell one another what they wished they could change about the world that had let them down so much. It didn’t matter that Gellert didn’t get the best start in life. If anything, it gave them something more in common. Curious boys let down by circumstances, that’s what they were.

Albus remembers that he’d sometimes stay up in the night to keep his conversations going with his new friend, because the desire to keep chatting away overtook the need for sleep. The sun would stay up for longer in these summers, disguising just how late they would stay up to stay in each other’s company. Albus didn’t need sleep to dream anyway, not when he now had someone to share all his desires and aspirations with.

He remembers writing letters in the comfort of his own bed, trying to push the amount of time he remained in company of his new friend. The day didn’t give Albus the chance to truly live, but it felt easier putting up with it knowing that the evening was for just Gellert and himself only. He’d try his best to make his writing legible as he’d be laying on his side which was hardly the most comfortable position to be using pen and paper. But he enjoyed himself far too much to stop. And the thrill and joy he experienced when one of Gellert’s letters flew through the open window was absolutely worth holding up those heavy eyelids. The image of Gellert, this elegant and intelligent man, also fighting to stay awake in his bed for a few more moments of his company was quite the amusing one.

One evening, they’d even sneak out of their houses - Gellert would say how Albus deserved to have a break from his family duties, and take him by the hand as they ran freely into the summer nights with a perfect mix of breeze and the warmth of the air. Or perhaps it was only him who felt warm in his cheeks? After all, being able to see the outside world in its purest form without having to care about anything else, at least not for this one night, and with a charming man he had grown so fond of over the past couple of weeks, did make Albus feel as if he had everything he wanted in this very moment.

He remembers the feeling of that tight grip on his hand, and his gaze falling onto Gellert’s smile as the moonlight reflected his facial features so beautifully. Albus wondered if Gellert also shared the same feelings he had for him, but his thoughts were interrupted when he felt trickles of rain coming from the starry skies.

“Ah. Typical English weather, isn’t it?” Gellert would say in his always charming voice, and Albus would laugh, as if his voice alone was enough to make him forget the inconvenience of their situation.

They made a run for it in the nearest thing with a roof above their heads anyway, a gazebo in the middle of the fields they had gotten themselves lost in. Albus ignited the long disused lamp above them, while Gellert took out his diary which became more of a canvas for his ambitions and plans for how he wanted to change society. As always, the two would begin to talk of the state of the world, how it would be much better with their ideals, the Deathly Hallows - topics they were so familiar with now, yet never lost its spark no matter how many times they’d talk through it.

Albus remembers the sounds of the rain that continued to around them, and the focussed look that Gellert had when he continued writing notes in haste, his handwriting getting messier and messier over time. For all his perfection, Gellert still had some of his own quirks.

“So you’d come out here with me in the middle of nowhere in this pouring rain, because you quite like the sound of a man taking control of the world - is that right, Albus?”

Albus knew that Gellert had a dry sense of humour, that by now he had become used to. Whatever smart or witty thing he tried to say, Albus only ever responded with a kind touch. “It is for the greater good, isn’t it?”

He remembers thinking back in these moments even when his life fell apart and left him more broken than he thought was possible. What began as the best summer of his life ended in Albus losing all that he loved dearly - he always did think that perhaps Gellert was too good to him for it to be true, but that didn’t prepare him to be so alone in his life like this.

Albus remembers that he still thought of Gellert even when he thought he had moved on in his life. No matter what else he occupied himself with, he felt empty without Gellert by his side, and it would drive him crazy every time he reminded himself of what he had lost. Not only his family, but a companion that Albus could connect with in a way that he had never experienced with anyone else.

He’d give into the temptation of taking the cover off the Mirror that he knew he shouldn’t be looking into, but he couldn’t put up with it for any longer. Even if he shouldn’t love Gellert for all that he had done, even if they could never be together again, even if this would never be the real Gellert, Albus still wanted something to satiate his desires. And so he’d waste away his time staring at his own reflection, until he saw the young Gellert staring back at him, connecting their hands with one another and being separated only by the reflection of dreams and reality.

Albus remembers how fond he was of Gellert, even as they face each other now as older men who have spent time apart and grown for far longer than the time they spent together in their brief summer. He shouldn’t feel this way, not when he’s here to finish what they had started once and for all. Gellert is no longer the same young man he met that summer. Those cheekbones haven’t aged well over time and there is no trace of charm left in him. But deep down Albus knows that perhaps, deep down nothing much has changed about him. Still, he remembers that, even if it was only for a short part of their lives, Gellert had indeed opened something inside of Albus that made him able to see life for what it was.

But once this is all over, the world won’t remember any detail of it.


End file.
